A Christmas message from Stephanie Higgins, Christians in Politics Intern and YCIP Coordinator.

I love this season of Advent! Advent literally means ‘the coming of Christ.’ These weeks before Christmas day are about preparing our heart for the gift of Jesus coming into the world and anticipating the joy and hope that He brings into the world because He was sent to be our Saviour. Although the tradition of the advent calendar only started in the 19th century, Jesus’ birth was prophesied from the days of Samuel in the Old Testament, and the Israelites anticipated a sign from God of the coming Messiah for many generations after.

We all look forward to and anticipate something. Perhaps it’s graduation or completing our first ten kilometre race. Perhaps it’s a world where we can meet up with friends and family, meet with our church family to worship God without social distancing or to spend next Christmas with all our loved ones. This anticipation gives us future hope and something to look forward to.

In the same way, Christmas tells us of a day we can anticipate when things will be better than they have ever been before because His birth brings the promise of his death, resurrection and eternal life. In the midst of this pandemic, many are looking for a sign that ‘things will all get better.’ Whilst the news this month of several COVID-19 vaccines passing effectiveness and safety trials has certainly given many around the world cause for hope for a brighter 2021, to find everlasting hope we must look back at the first Christmas when Jesus was born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago. We can rejoice in the light He brings into the world that can never goes out. His name ‘Immanuel- God with us’ means that there is no place or circumstances where He is not. 

ACTIVE WAITING

However this anticipation is not just a passive waiting for some future hope. Anticipation is ACTIVE waiting. To live life with integrity now is to live in the light of that future perfection. The practice of advent is one of showing up. We show up to meet God each day in anticipation of His coming and we show up to advance His kingdom in the here and now. We demonstrate that future perfection by our actions here and now. Just as we study hard to complete a degree in anticipation of graduating and train for a race in preparation for that wonderful feeling of victory or hitting a personal best, the future hope of heaven has implications for present living. 

In the Bible, King David sang about the coming Messiah in the Psalms as he also sought to lead the Israelites as king,serving God in this public office. Nehemiah knew of the Messianic prophecies about the Saviour of his people, but sought to use his position as governor of Judea to relieve their present suffering as a result of Jerusalem’s walls lying in ruins after the Babylonian ransacking. He did not simply wait for the hope of the Messiah to come to fruition, but brought about significant change through the political structures of the day. Likewise, we must find a kingdom purpose here on earth because we are partners in God’s restoration and redemption of all things in the here and now. We don’t “build the kingdom” (that is God’s job), but we do demonstrate the kingdom. In the same way Jesus’ miracles were real healings but were also a sign of the total healing to come, our actions make a real difference, but are also signs of that perfect future.

ISAIAH 9: EVERLASTING GOD, PRINCE OF PEACE

Isaiah 9;1, 6-7 summarises this and is a great verse to meditate on at the end of a year where everything has changed around us: ‘Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And He will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting God, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end.’

JESUS’ FINAL HOPE

Christmas will look very different this year, but Jesus’ message of hope and joy remains as true and important as ever. Whilst we celebrate the birth of the Light of the world at a time when the world seems darker than usual, what can you do to actively wait for the final hope the coming of Jesus provides?